The Foreign Trade Administration (FTA) at the Ministry of Economy manages and directs Israel's international trade policy. The FTA promotes Israel's economy through a number of avenues: initiating and overseeing trade agreements, promoting Israel's exports, and fostering robust relations between Israel and foreign industries.

The FTA is divided into three main divisions, each promoting the Israeli economy in distinct and significant ways. The Trade Policy and International Agreements Division facilitates Israel's free trade Agreements, maintains and develops inter-governmental trade relations and addresses regulatory barriers that affect the Israeli industry. The Export Promotion Division works to ensure the continued advancement of Israel's exports. The International Projects and Financing Division, the newest Division, offers different programs that support Israeli companies in their business operations abroad.

The FTA operates as the headquarters of over 40 economic and trade missions around the world. These missions are located in the main trade and commercial centers as well as in multilateral organizations, such as the WTO and the OECD. In the past few years, Israel has increased its presence in the Far East and South America by opening additional missions in these regions.

Israel's economic and trade missions act as the forefront of the Israeli government’s efforts to boost the Israeli industry in foreign markets.

We work in conjunction with other units of the Ministry to attract foreign investment to Israel's domestic economy. Together, our efforts ensure that Israel's industry continues to be a leading competitive participant in today's global market

The International Branch is responsible for promoting and maintaining international agreements. The Branch is divided into three departments:

·The Department for Multi-Lateral Agreements– which leads the activity opposite the organizations shaping the policy and trade rules in the world today, such as the WTO. The developments in the organizations and Israel’s active participation in those processes, actually dictate the pace of progress and participation of Israel in the world globalization processes, which eventually enable Israel to improve and expand its trade possibilities.

·The Department for Bi-Lateral Agreements – which negotiates new trade agreements of the state of Israel, with the objective of preventing the discrimination of the local industry and securing our position in the various markets. The Department deals with the continuous handling of these agreements, in order to preserve the rights achieved for the Israeli industry.

·The Department for Import Policy and OECD – the Department deals with the formalization of the policy of import to Israel and with simplification of foreign trade procedures. In addition, the department deals with representing Israel in the OECD – the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.

The Export Promotion Branch

Tel.: 972-2-6662670

The Branch is responsible for promoting the export and operating the representative offices abroad. For that purpose it is divided into regional desks which operate a chain of professional commercial attachés around the world. The geographic desks include the following areas: Europe (1+2), America, Asia-Pacific and Africa, India-China, The Middle East and North Africa.

The activity includes, among other things, the following activities:

·Operating the economic representatives’ arrangement.

·Setting policy and priorities for the activity in the countries.

·Promoting the economic and trade relations with the countries under its responsibility.

·Organizing and handling business and/or governmental delegations to the country and from it.

·Supervising and controlling activity, personnel and budgets of the economic representative office.

·Issuing publicity material for distribution abroad, for presenting the economic-industrial potential of Israel.

·Preparing regional and branch surveys for the use of the exporters.

·Hosting foreign journalists in Israel and accompanying them through their visit in the industry.

·Conducting seminars and meetings with businessmen in Israel and abroad.

·Participating in commercial exhibitions of the field around the world.

Alongside the geographic departments there are also the Foreign Relations and Official Guests Department, as well as the Department for Foreign Trade Budgets and Export Registration.

In the Administration there is also the Trade Levies Unit. Its role is to protect local production against substantial injury caused by competing imports and/or dumped imports and preventing damage to the field by imposing trade levies.

The InvestmentPromotionCenter is a body responsible for attracting and handling foreign direct investments to Israel. The issue of FDI – foreign direct investments is identified nowadays as one of the major promoters for growth of economies in general and of small countries in particular. The globalization of production and development of products in places with technological advantage cause the tightening of the connection between international investments and international trade. Israel is known as a place in which universal breakthroughs take place. Those breakthroughs constitute the driving force for the creation of success stories of a global magnitude and a source for profit.

The main target of the Center is – enhancing the extent of foreign direct investments to Israel.

The goals and objectives of the center are:

·Promoting investments of multi-national companies.

·Establishing a mechanism and chain of partners for handling foreign investors.

·Individually and continually accompanying foreign investors.

·Establishing infrastructure in the fields of publicity and information.